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Unopened Gifts

Now that Christmas is past, I’m doing a little survey that has two parts. Part 1: How many of us have Christmas presents under the tree that we’ve yet to open? I await your responses, but I’m absolutely certain the answer is NONE! Unless it’s the package from Aunt Edna that you know contains a fruitcake!

We don’t have post-Christmas conversations that go something like this: “Oh that’s right. There are still a few gifts under the tree that I forgot to open.” Or “My kids put presents under the tree, but I just wasn’t I the mood to see what’s in them.” When someone takes the time, thought, and money to give us a special gift, we always open it. We know that the gift represents something we may really want or need. And more importantly, someone is expressing our value to them by giving us the gift.

I started thinking about this when reading our scripture passage for this Sunday. It describes how each of us has spiritual gifts. It says, “these gifts… are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 12:11, The Message). So here’s part 2 of the survey: How many of us have spiritual gifts that we have yet to open? The answer is probably many of us.

Just as it would be sad to see unopened gifts still under the tree, it is even more so to think that we have spiritual gifts from God that we have yet to “open” and use. When we discover and use these gifts, it’s only then we begin to experience what it means to flourish in life. Join us this Sunday or listen to the podcast as we explore how we open our spiritual gifts.